The Apostle John feels it is necessary to warn us to not love the world…because it is easy for us to love the world.

The world appeals to deeply ingrained parts of us…including our flesh.

The world appeals to us in obviously sinful ways…and very deceptive ways.

We can unfortunately work hard to successfully resist the obviously sinful allures of the world…only to fall prey to deceptive temptations.

It is possible to live a moral yet worldly life.

To successfully avoid loving the world…we must fully grasp all the ways that the world influences our thinking.

We must be aware of how the world pulls us toward materialism.

We must be aware of how the world effects our definition of success.

We must be aware of how the world impacts how we define self-worth.

We cannot fight an influence we don’t recognize.

In medicine, we are highly exposed to all of these influences.

We generate an above average income…and are tempted to spend the vast majority on ourselves.

We are told we are a success simply because we are physicians.

We can easily fall into the trap of defining our worth by what we do rather than by who we are.

The life Jesus modeled for us was very different from what the world pulls us toward.

Jesus lived satisfying needs not wants.

Jesus defined success as following the will of His Father.

Jesus derived His sense of worth from who He was…the Son Who was…Who is…and Who will come again.

As physicians who earn an above average income…we can fight materialism by striving to purchase according to needs rather than according to our wants.

We can fight the pull toward worldly success by daily seeking the will of the Father…and obeying that will.

We can avoid the trap of defining our worth through our practice of medicine by daily reminding ourselves that our true worth rests on the fact that we are sons and daughters of the living God…destined for eternity.

Simple reminders…but powerful weapons in our fight against the world.

Prayer: Lord, remind me of who I am, how I should live, and lead me into Your will today.